Sint-Bavokerk

The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a former cathedral on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem. It was dedicated to Saint Bavo at some time before 1500, though the painting illustrating the miracle of St. Bavo saving Haarlem from the Kennemers is supposedly showing a scene from the 13th century. It is built in the Gothic style of architecture, and it was a cathedral from 1559 until it was confiscated in 1578 and converted to Prote... more

The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a former cathedral on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem. It was dedicated to Saint Bavo at some time before 1500, though the painting illustrating the miracle of St. Bavo saving Haarlem from the Kennemers is supposedly showing a scene from the 13th century. It is built in the Gothic style of architecture, and it was a cathedral from 1559 until it was confiscated in 1578 and converted to Protestantism. The Cathedral of Saint Bavo now serves as the main cathedral for the Catholic Diocese of Haarlem. Haarlem has had a Christian parish church since the 9th century. This first church was a "daughter church" of Velsen, which itself was founded in 695 by St. Willibrord. It was a wooden church at the site of the Sint-Bavokerk. That church was expanded over the centuries and became formally Catholic in 1559 when the first bishop Nicolaas van Nieuwland was appointed. Only 19 years later, after the Siege of Haarlem, the church was... less